World briefs

BRUSSELS, Belgium - A leading Iranian nuclear envoy on Thursday suggested the country could reconsider its uranium enrichment program if it gets cast-iron guarantees of regular international fuel supplies for its nuclear power plants. However, he declined to clarify whether that meant that Iran would halt its enrichment program in return for such international guarantees, suggesting it might have to continue at a diminished level in case the outside supply stops.

LONDON - THE U. S. plans to sell its landmark London embassy and build a more secure facility outside the city center (on a 5-acre site on former industrial land south of River Thames), the U. S. ambassador said Thursday, a move that would end the American presence on a square once home to John Adams and Dwight Eisenhower.

OTTAWA - A row about plagiarism embroiled Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Tuesday after his former speechwriter admitted to copying a speech in support of the US-led Iraq war by Australia's former leader John Howard. Ahead of elections in October, Harper's Liberal opponents seized on the incident to tie Harper to former Australian prime minister John Howard and US President George W. Bush, who were close allies in the "war on terror".

MOGADISHU, Somalia - A Somali pirate spokesman says his group will not release a hijacked Ukrainian cargo ship loaded with arms for less than $20 million. Sugule Ali told the Associated Press on Thursday the pirates would "never" reduce the ransom of the Ukrainian freighter loaded with 33 Soviet-designed tanks and other weapons. The MV Faina was seized last Thursday and is now anchored off the coast of central Somalia.

NEW DELHI - India banned smoking in public places on Thursday, leaving public health officials with a much tougher task: get the nation's estimated 120 million smokers to stub out their cigarettes. As more countries have clamped down on smoking in recent years, Indians have freely puffed away at playgrounds, railway stations, sidewalk cafes and even hospitals. No more, and a violator will get a $5 fine.

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA - THE TOP U. S. diplomat for Latin America says Washington has "no intention" of reviving Cold War rhetoric despite Russia's deepening relations with Venezuela and Bolivia. U. S. Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon says Washington sees no "military or geopolitical threat" in Russian arms sales to Venezuela, or in its sending of a naval squadron to join exercises there. Shannon told The Associated Press Wednesday he believes Russian-Venezuelan ties aren't likely to endure. The U. S. ambassador to Bolivia says Russia wants to demonstrate that Latin America is not the U. S. backyard.